China rate cut renews economic concerns BEIJING--A surprise rate cut by China's central bank underscores the increasingly aggressive measures the leadership is relying on to rev up activity in the world's second-largest economy. The rate cut shaves a quarter of a percentage point off benchmark lending and deposit rates, and came less than four months after the last reduction--sooner than many economists and analysts expected.

Southwest completes inspections on nearly two-thirds of planes that missed checks Airline put some mechanics on overtime to conduct overnight checks on the temporarily grounded jets Southwest Airlines completes mandatory inspections on about 85 of the 128 jets it grounded the previous day because of missed mandatory checks of backup rudder systems.

Anheuser-Busch should buy these craft beer brewers next The conglomerate has been on a buying spree as craft takes market share The conglomerate has been on a buying spree as craft takes market share, writes Jason Notte.

Alibaba using police as its ‘thugs,’ says Chinese critic A webmaster in China’s Shenzhen accuses police officers from a city some 800 miles away of being the thugs of Alibaba Group after he was detained and told he should not be putting articles critical of the e-commerce giant, Caixin Online reports.

Jon Stewart’s brand building not seen since Carson This late-night host may be exceptionally hard to replace Jon Stewart’s building of “The Daily Show” brand hasn’t been seen since Johnny Carson developed “The Tonight Show” into a talk-show force in the 1960s and 1970s.

Alibaba expands into smartphones, investing $590 million in Xiaomi rival The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is expanding into the smartphone business with a $590 million investment in smartphone start-up Meizu Technology, a long-time rival of Xiaomi, the country’s biggest smartphone maker.

Obama faces backlash over Crusades remark at prayer breakfast The president gave every appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast of having heard his critics’ demand that he speak the words “radical” and “Islam” in that order. But he certainly didn’t do as they asked.

Southern Co. revenue rise, but costs weigh Southern Co. said Wednesday that its revenue rose in the most recent period, although costs related to a delayed clean-coal project continued to weigh on the utility's bottom line. The company's earnings matched analysts' projections while its top line easily beat them. Atlanta-based Southern said economic growth picked up strong momentum during the second half of the year, driven by manufacturing activity and export growth.

A look at who wins with a U.S. dollar rally With the euro and yen continuing to fall, strength in the dollar appears to be a good bet going forward and knowing where to place your money in the face of such strength is an absolute must.

Weyerhaeuser profit surges nearly four-fold Weyerhaeuser Co. WY said its fourth-quarter earnings rose nearly four-fold, helped by growth at its wood-products division. The forest-products company's increased focus on its core wood-products segment has paid off, as an improving housing market has helped the company post strong results. Revenue in the segment rose 2.3% to $947 million from $926 million a year earlier.

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